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Loki
Loki is the Norse god of mischief, as well as of fire. He is the son of two giants, Fárbauti ("cruel striker") and Laufey (or Nál which means "needle", implying that she was skinny and weak.). His two brothers (who were to be beside him in Ragnarök) are Býleistr'' (bee-lighting)'' and Helblindi (All blind or hel-blinder). He is referred to as the blood-brother of Odin. Loki becomes harbinger of Ragnarök and the father of the three chaos monsters: Fenrir, Jörmungandr, and Hel. Loki's mischief and intellect is not to be underestimated, as he is ultimately although indirectly responsible for the deaths of Baldr and Thor, which were caused by Höðr and Jörmungandr (respectively).(Thor, 2011 film) In Norse Mythology Beginning In the beginning, Loki was merely a personification of fire and the hearth. As the stories went on, he became a devil. Sources indicated that Loki was originally a demon, or a Jotunn, since he born to two giants. Loki, as a result of sharing blood with Odin, became an Aesir, making him Odin's brother. In contrast with popular movies, Loki is actually Thor's step-uncle, not his brother. Asgard's Wall It is said that when the brick mason, giant builder of Asgard's walls, demanded an unreasonably high price for his work (he requested the sun, the moon, and Freya as his wife), it was Loki's idea to give him six months to build the wall. Thinking that surely the man would fail, and that Loki's plan was infallible, the gods all agreed; all except Freya, who was part of the bargain. When the brick mason and his stallion, Svadilfari, had made much progress on the wall before his time expired, the gods all turned to Loki, threatening him with death if he didn't find a way to make sure the wall wasn't finished within the sixth month. Fearing for his life, Loki took the form of a young mare and enticed Svadilfari away from his master, causing the mason to lose the bet. The union of Loki and Svadilfari brought Odin his eight-legged steed Sleipnir. The Three Chao cock Some time after the wall was built, Loki, discontent with his faithful wife Sigyn, went to Jötunheimr where he wooed the giantess Angrboda. In the time they spent together, Angrboda gave birth to three children as terrible as their father: the first, the wolf Fenrir, whose mouth reached from the heavens to the earth; the second, Jörmungandr, the serpent that encircled the earth; and the third was the goddess Hel. After hearing of their birth and the prophecies surrounding them, Odin had them brought to him. Once they arrive, he retains custody of Fenrir, has Jormungandr thrown into the ocean to grow and gives Hel dominion over Nilfheim. In the tale of "The Binding of Fenris", we find that the eldest son of Loki and Angrboda was the wolf which ate Tyr's hand. The Dwarfs It was Loki who tricked the two dwarf sons of Ivaldi and the dwarfs Brokk and Eitri to work against one another to create the gods well-known weapons and mounts. He betted his head that Eitri and Brokk could not make gifts superior to Skidbladnir, Gungnir and replacement hair for Sif, whose golden locks had been shorn by Loki as a prank (for which he was punished by Sif's husband, Thor). Eitri made the ring, Draupnir, the hammer Mjölnir and the boar, Gullinbursti. These objects were judged to be superior and Loki lost. However, when it came time for his head to be cut off, he protested against it, as any action could damage his neck, which was not part of the deal. Instead, Brokk had Loki's lips sewn together for a while. The Theft of Idunn's Apples Loki was also responsible for the theft and return of Idunn (from the clutches of Þjazi, father of Skadi) and her apples. He also appears beside Thor during many of his outings to Jötunheimr. He even shared Thor's shame when Thor dressed as Freya to retrieve his hammer (Loki was dressed as a nurse). The Death of Balder It was Loki who talked Hodr into throwing the mistletoe branch at his twin brother Balder, and therefore he is the true murderer of the god of light. In the Lokasenna After Balder's death, Aegir, god of the sea, invited all of the gods to his home so as they may forget their woes. It is here that Loki commits his final offense before his binding. Here he insults Bragi, calling him a coward and a poor man. He then goes on to insult Idunn, Gefjun, Odin, Frigg, Freyja, Njord, Freyr, Tyr, Heimdall, Skadi and finally Sif. After this, he is chased away by Thor. The Binding of Loki After Loki had been chased away by Thor for insulting all the gods and goddesses, Loki was then sought out and bound to a rock by the entrails of his son Narfi, who had been torn to pieces by his son, Vali, who had been transformed into a ravenous wolf. The faithful Sigyn kept watch over her husband, catching the poison from the serpent that Skadi placed over Loki's head. It was said that, when Sigyn left to empty the bowl, the poison would drip into Loki's eyes. His writhing from the pain caused earthquakes. He was chained until the day of Ragnarök, the end of the gods, where he will fight amongst the jotnar and face Heimdallr. Upon the field of Vígríðr, the two will slay each other. Powers *Animal Morphing *Decoy Creation *Enhanced Charisma *Enhanced Intelligence *Fear Masking *Fire Manipulation *Gender Transformation *Illusion Manipulation *Intuitive Aptitude *Invisibility *Shapeshifting *Trickster In Popular Culture Video Games *Loki is an antagonist in Valkyrie Profile. *Loki is a playable God in SMITE Battleground of the Gods *Loki can be chosen as a god to worship in Age of Mythology. Literature * Loki is featured in the information book Worlds Worst Monsters and Villains. * Loki appears in Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods. * Loki appears in the 1975 fantasy novel Eight Days of Luke by Diana Wynne Jones. * Loki is the protagonist of The Gospel of Loki by Joanne Harris, which presents a modern interpretation of the Norse sagas. * Loki is featured prominently in Wagner's cycle Opera Ring of the Nibelung , wherein the last installment Götterdämmerung he reveals his hope to turn into fire and destroy Valhalla, and at the last moment at the onset of Ragnarok Valhalla is set alight, destroying the Gods. * Loki is an antagonist in Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard ''series. Music *Rancid has a song written about Loki. Film * Loki appeared as the primary antagonist on Marvel Entertainment's 2011 film ''Thor, ''The Avengers, Thor: Dark World, and the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok as a son of Odin and brother of Thor. Loki was portrayed by British actor Tom Hiddleston (The Hollow Crown). * Loki was portrayed by Richard Grieco in Almighty Thor. * In Hercules: Legendary Journeys, he is portrayed by Ian Hughes. * He is portrayed by Alan Cumming in Son of the Mask. Gallery Loki.png God loki.jpg Lokibind2s.jpg Loki in painting.jpg 220px-Loki and Sigyn by Gebhardt.jpg 800px-Loki taunts Bragi.jpg Loki.jpg Loki and Hod.jpg Loki and Idunn.jpg Loki-Mask.jpg Portrayal File:Loki in Avengers (2).jpg|Tom Hiddleston ''Thor (2011)/Avengers (2012) File:Loki in Almighty Thor.jpg|Richard Grieco Almighty Thor File:Loki in Son of the Mask.jpg|Alan Cumming Son of the Mask Loki-Hercules Legendary Journeys.jpg|Ian Hughes Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Hammer-of-the-Gods-Episode-Still-gabriel-the-trickster-loki-11694177-966-1450.jpg|Richard Speight Jr. Supernatural image.jpg|Shane Cortese The Almighty Johnsons 85254-28522.jpg|Ted Allpress who played young Loki in Thor (2011) 202887-vpc_loki.jpg|Loki in Valkyrie Profile|link=Loki loki.png|Loki as he appears in Smite Gallery In comics In film In television Family External Links References Category:Norse gods Category:Trickster Gods Category:Antagonists Category:Gods of Fire Category:Deaths during Ragnarok Category:Norse mythology Category:Norse mythology characters Category:Norse Deities Category:Gods Category:Jötunn